Safety at Work

Make electrical safety part of your job. Learn about the electrical hazards in your work environment. Be aware of the risks of electrical shocks and burns. Be prepared for emergencies. Share your knowledge with everyone you work with.

Practice safe limits. Electricity can arc or “jump” from a wire to a conducting object like a ladder or a truck. Remember to keep away:

3 metres (10 feet) between you and an overhead power line

6 metres (20 feet) between you and a high voltage transmission line

A downed power line is deadly.

Play it safe, even if a line doesn’t appear to be live.

10 metres (30 feet). That’s the minimum distance you want to keep between you and the fallen wire.

Stay inside your vehicle. If a line falls on your vehicle, stay put. Once you step outside and touch ground, you could become a path for electricity.

Hop and Shuffle. If you have to leave the vehicle (fire, gas leak), hop out clear of the vehicle and land on both feet. Keep your feet close together and shuffle until you clear the vehicle by 10 metres (30 feet). Do not touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time or the electricity may run through your body.

Look down carefully!

Before you dig, check to be sure you know where the cables and service lines are. NTPC and the gas company should be contacted prior to digging.

Look up and live!

Make sure you and your crew are aware of all overhead lines. Ladders, cranes and pipes are all good conductors of electricity, and remember:

You hold their lives in your hands.

If you’re a supervisor or foreman, take full responsibility for your crew. Get proper safety training, and make sure your crew also has the critical safety training that they need to go home to their families.